No not that F-bomb. Feminism. It's spreading to our inner city schools,
with some young people thinking it should be taught on during class. Radhika
Sanghani explores the rise of the teen feminists

I did not know that I was a feminist when I was at school. I knew I fervently believed in equality, and wrote letters for Amnesty International every Friday lunch time, but I never identified as a feminist, and neither did my friends. It was partly because that word wasn’t really used as freely as it is now, but also, because it just didn’t occur to us.

This does not appear to be the case for schoolgirls now. Many are increasingly aware of the f-word, whether it’s in reaction to misogynistic songs likeRobin Thicke’s Blurred Lines, or from more media coverage of women’s issues and gender equality.

It has led two London schools – and potentially many others – to set up their own Feminist Societies. Camden School for Girls’ Fem Group was set up three years ago, but the current girls in charge are moving the club on from typical lunchtime meetings to call for a change in national education; they want schools to teach feminism in Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) classes.

“There’s a lot of stuff in our citizenship and PHSE classes about other forms of discrimination,” says Camden School for Girls' Anna Pick, 17. “I feel like [feminism] should be a part of everyone’s education really and not just a specialist subject. It should be more universal than that.

“It seems there’s an image of feminism being a movement that men are excluded from, in the way that the struggle against racism doesn’t exclude white people. I think putting it on the curriculum would definitely break down that barrier a bit. Why isn’t it included in the kind of bracket of things everyone should know about?”

Why indeed? Well, it might be to do with the fact that national PHSE guidance hasn’t been updated for about 14 years. Following Telegraph Wonder Women’s Better Sex Education campaign a group of charities are writing new guidance for teachers on how to talk about sex and relationships in the digital era (including things like online porn, sexting and online bullying), but Camden’s Fem Group leaders think it could go further.

They want to see a change to PSHE's structure – but their big ask is for it to include guidance on teaching kids feminism, so that they can have an open environment to discuss issues about gender equality, harassment and “even just talking about how inequality is actually a problem”, says Pick.

Alida Haworth, 17, says: "If general elements of feminism like harassment were ingrained into our education system, it would be a lot more understandable. To say that we could add something to the curriculum doesn’t seem like that big an ask. It’s so necessary. It seems the education is being reformed very quickly but I don’t feel like they’re considering gender issues into the syllabus.”

Emily Doyland, 18, also thinks pupils would benefit from learning about more female figures in history and science lessons. She doesn’t remember learning about a single female scientist and thinks that should change. “It would be best if the syllabus was a bit freer so in history they could just dip in and talk about the suffragette movement,” she says. “You could weave it in to the syllabus. We think it should just be more spoken about.”

Haworth tells us all about one of her friends who goes to a nearby school, who studied English in Sixth Form but was only allowed to do male texts. Not a single text on the school’s syllabus was written by a female author, and all three girls are shocked that something like that could ever happen. It brings them back to their cause.

“For me there’s a feeling that women are eradicated from the syllabus in a way. We’re not asking for a massive revolution of the education system – it’s something that we feel is not something that should be seen as a big deal, but is very natural,” stresses Haworth.

“It’s to talk about feminism. I think it should be taught in discussion. We’re taught lessons in a very structured way, where there’s a teacher at the front who gives us the information and we’re fed it. It should be much more interactive and you should feel safe to bring up any view you have.”

But Camden’s Fem Group aren’t the only schoolgirls making ‘feminism’ the topic everyone should be talking about. Giorgia Rose and Annabelle Thomas set up a feminist society at Watford Grammar School for Girls last year to raise awareness about inequality and help girls fight back against rape banter and everyday sexism.

Giorgia Rose and Annabelle Thomas

Rose says: “I came across theEveryday Sexism project and I thought it was really interesting and I wanted all my friends to be enthusiastic about it as well, so I set up the group. I couldn't believe someone hadn't done it before."

Thomas adds: "Giorgia tried to explain feminism to me and at first I was like, it's not an issue because I didn't think it would be. But when someone's told you something, it becomes apparent to you and you notice it more. Now I help Giorgia with the feminist society and really notice examples of sexism in our own lives."

She tells me a concerning anecdote about a pool party where the boys gave the girls marks out of 10 for their bikini bodies. Rose adds a story about being catcalled on the way to Tesco and as they chat, they remember endless examples. It quickly becomes apparent that the girls face sexism on a daily basis, and that the biggest pressures for them are appearance-related.

"The expectation that men have to approach you and that you have to be the desirable one, is a huge pressure," says Thomas. "If you don't get the attention you feel you have done something wrong. But attention shouldn't be the thing that gives you self-esteem."

They are a far cry from the girls I knew at school, who thought being a feminist was the equivalent of not shaving your legs. And it is inspiring to speak to them and know that even if feminism isn’t being officially taught on the syllabus (yet), they’re figuring it all out by themselves – and then teaching their friends. As Michael Gove announces he is sending his daughter to a state school, perhaps he will announce his support in favour of a total PHSE overhaul too. Here's hoping.